Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Falls to Ramapo, 92-90

ORLANDO, FL-A three-point shot by senior forward Brandon Shelton (Cambridge, MA/Cambridge Rindge & Latin HS/UMass Lowell) missed at the buzzer and Ramapo held off the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team, 92-90, at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Holiday Classic at the Milk House at Walt Disney World Saturday.

The Corsairs, who trailed, 92-90 with 22 seconds remaining, set up for the tying basket when senior guard Jeff Macchi (Franklin, MA/Franklin HS) passed inside to senior forward Matt Walker (Brockton, MA/Brockton HS). But the ball was knocked out of bounds, giving the Corsairs possession under their own basket with six-tenths of a second remaining. Shelton took the in-bounds pass and fired from the corner, but it missed as time expired.

"We had the ball late, and Jeff drove, and passed the ball underneath the basket to Matt, and rather than call a foul, they called the ball out of bounds off Ramapo," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Brian Baptiste. "We got the ball out of bounds, and Brandon Shelton got off a decent shot, and we would have won if he made it, since it was a three."

UMass Dartmouth led virtually all the way in a closely-contested first half, with their biggest lead being a five-point advantage at 16-11 after a tip-in by junior forward Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, MA/Newton North HS) and Shelton's lay-up with 14:28 remaining. Andre Kenny's lay-up gave the Roadrunners a 46-44 lead with 1:46 left in the first half, but Macchi's free throw, a three-pointer by Stephens and Shelton's lay-up sent the teams to the locker room with UMD leading at the break, 50-48.

Consecutive lay-ups by Walker at the start of the second half staked the Corsairs to a 54-48 advantage, but Ramapo stayed close and Kenny tied the game at 68-68 with a jump shot with 10:30 remaining. Kenny's jumper and a three-point play by A.J. LoRusso helped the Roadrunners built a 75-68 lead, but UMD came back, and Walker's trey reduced the lead to 83-81 with 3:03 to play.

Kenny's lay-up with 1:10 remaining gave Ramapo an 84-81 lead, but Shelton countered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to a single point with a minute left. Kenny and Stephens traded lay-ups before Kenny's free throw with 22 seconds remaining gave Ramapo a 92-90 lead.

"It was a disappointing loss," said Baptiste. "It was a close game the whole way, and we played hard. They're a good team."

Stephens led UMass Dartmouth with 18 points, Shelton added 17, sophomore guard Paul Rose (Boston, MA/North Cambridge Catholic HS/Massachusetts Bay CC) contributed 15, Walker had 14 and sophomore center Lance Greene (Dorchester, MA/Charlestown HS/UMass Lowell) added 11. Kenny led all corers with 32 points, LaQuan Peterkin added 17 for Ramapo, and Isaiah Lynch had 11. Macchi and Stephens each grabbed six rebounds for the Corsairs, but Kenny had 10 for the Roadrunners for a double double as Ramapo out rebounded the Corsairs, 42-34 and made 63.6 per cent of their shots from the field to 41 per cent for UMD. The Roadrunners won despite committing 36 turnovers and failing to make a three-point shot.

The Corsairs dropped to 6-3 with the defeat, while the Roadrunners improved to 9-2 with the victory. UMass Dartmouth will conclude holiday tournament action when they play Wesley at the Milk House Sunday.